KV-1
The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov and used by the Red Army during World War II. Overview The KV series were known for their heavy armour protection during the early stages of the war, especially during the first year of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In certain situations, even a single KV-1 or KV-2 supported by infantry was capable of halting large German formations. German tanks at that time were rarely used in KV encounters as their armament was too poor to deal with the "Russischer Koloss" – "Russian Colossus". The KV tanks were practically immune to the 3.7 cm KwK 36 and howitzer-like, short barreled 7.5 cm KwK 37 guns mounted, respectively, on the early Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks fielded by the invading German forces. Until more effective guns were developed by the Germans, the KV-1 was invulnerable to almost any German weapon except the 8.8 cm Flak gun. Prior to Operation Barbarossa, about 500 of the over 22,000 tanks then in Soviet service were of the KV-1 type. As the war progressed, it became evident that there was little sense in producing the expensive KV tanks, as the T-34 medium tank performed better (or at least equally well) in all practical respects. In fact, the only advantage it had over the T-34/76 was its larger and roomier three-man turret. Later in the war, the KV series became a base for the development of the IS (Iosif Stalin) series of tanks and self-propelled guns. In Flames of War The tanks from the KV series can be deployed in all the game periods, though they were the most commonly used between June 1941 and the end of 1943 (the end of Early War and the entire Mid-War period). All of these count as heavy tanks, though the KV-1s has mobility similar to medium tanks. KV-1 Obr.1939/40 (V3) The premiere models of the KV-1 tank saw most of the combat in 1941. The V3 edition of the game considers them as heavy tanks with Limited Vision and Unreliable special rules, making them more a defensive than an offensive weapon. The standard KV-1 (V4) This tank was introduced in 2018 with the Enemy at the Gates campaign series, allowing to deploy 3, 4 or 5 tanks in a Mixed Tank Battalion. The Overworked special rule gives penalties to fire on the move. KV-1s he KV-1S was used to arm both the Guards Heavy Tank Companies and the Heavy Tank Companies of the 1942 organisation Mixed Tank Battalion. Despite it being lighter than the KV-1e it is still a formidable tank. It has excellent mobility being Fully-tracked but not limited by the Slow Tank rule of other KVs. It also had Wide Tracks making it excellent in difficult terrain. The improved turret with the command cupola also means it does not suffer from Limited Vision. It has excellent armour for a Mid-War tank and good for Late-War: * Front 8 (7 in V4); * Side 6 ; * and Top 2. It is armed with the same gun as the T-34 giving it range 32”/80cm, ROF 2, AT 9 and FP 3+. KV-85 After the Prokhorovka battle, KV-1s was fitted with an 85mm gun to increase its anti-tank performance. The advent of T-34/85 and IS-2 with 122mm guns made the KV-85 obsolete, yet few Guards Heavy Tank Regiments retained the latter until the end of 1944. Those tanks are present in Red Bear ''handbook, allowing to deploy them as a Late-War force as well as KV-1 and KV-1s. KV-8 The flamethrower variant of KV-1 tank, used for supporting infantry. The 76mm gun has been replaced by a flamethrower and a co-axial 45mm gun. Model kits Metal/resin * SBX04 KV-1s Heavy Tank Company * SU082 KV-1e Plastic * Stalingrad Starter Set (one KV-1/KV-1s/KV-8 included) * SBX40 KV Tank company (five tanks with KV-1/KV-1s/KV-8 options * SUAB09 Nikolay's Steel Wall (three KV-1/KV-1s/KV-8 included) Model assembly Metal and resin sets Those are composed of resin hull, resin turret, soft metal threads, soft metal gun barrel, commander's cupola, and commander figurine. The model can be assembled within 10 minutes, though painting the threads under the fenders might be troublesome. Plastic sets The plastic model kit has been released in 2018 and is composed of two sprues: one with the lower hull and threads and the second one with turret pieces and upper hull. The model can be built either as KV-1, KV-1s or KV-8, though it is also possible to build KV-85 if the 85mm gun and mantlet from IS-2 model are around. Assembling the KV-1 * Begin assembly of the KV-1 by gluing on the right hand-side tracks. * Next, attach the left hand-side tracks. The hull can be filled with objects to give it some weight. * Glue the hull upper to the lower assembly. * Attach the rear plate and the glacis plate. * Glue in the straight edged engine deck for the KV-1. * Add fuel tanks. Those for KV-1 have a rectangular shape. * Combine the top and bottom turret pieces. The KV-1's turret is the big, slab-sided one with a bulbous gun mantlet and a single, large top hatch in the turret's centre. * Attach the rear machine gun to the turret. * Add the commander's hatch. * Glue in the longer gun barrel. * Attach the gun assembly to the turret. * Add a turret peg to the underside of the turret. * Position the turret on the hull assembly. Assembling the KV-1s * Build the hull just like KV-1, just use the rounded engine deck for the KV-1s. * Add fuel tanks. Those for KV-1s have a drum-like round shape. * Combine the top and bottom turret pieces. The KV-1s turret is the smaller one with rounder shapes, integrated gun mantlet and raised commander's cupola. * Glue in the rear machine gun and the mantlet to the turret. * Attach the commanders hatch in either the open or closed position. * Glue in the long gun barrel. * Add a turret peg to the underside of the turret. * Finish by adding the turret to the hull assembly. The KV-85 turret To build a KV-85 turret, the original gun mantlet has to be replaced with the 85mm gun one from IS-2 plastic model kit. The easiest way to do so is to remove the recess on the mantlet with a modeling knife, glue the mantlet to the turret and sand it to make the superstructure integrated. An alternative method requires cutting the 85mm IS-1 mantlet in three pieces, trimming the side parts to match the middle part and glue them together. Assembling the KV-8 The assembly of the KV-8 is the same as the KV-1, just the gun mantlet wih a flamethrower for 45mm gun (shorter barrel) is used instead of the standard mantlet. SU080.jpg|The old metal/resin KV-1 model. SUAB09-23.jpg|The lower hull plastic sprue with additional components for the upper hull and turrets. SUAB09-22.jpg Painting Soviet tanks used in WW2 were most commonly painted deep green overall, called 4BO in official Russian sources. Some units did use camouflage patterns, though it was not a common practice. Tank turrets were usually adorned with tactical numbers, company/battalion/regiment markings and slogans written in Cyrillic; tanks from Guards Tank Regiments had the Guards emblem painted (a red Soviet star inside a golden wreath and with a red flag). Regular red Soviet stars were more common on Lend-Lease tanks than Soviet-built ones before late 1944. During the Battle of Berlin in 1945, the Soviets painted white bars and rectangles on turrets for aerial identification. During the winter, a whitewash was commonly applied to tanks as a mean of camouflage. Suggested paints: Primer/base colour * Battlefront Tankovy Green* * Army Painted Army Green* * Humbrol H86 green * Citadel Base Castellan Green* * Citadel Caliban Green * Citadel Waaagh! Flesh* The asterisk (*) indicates colour tones close to 4BO tone. Details * any steel metalizer (for exposed metal parts and threads) * any tone of brown (for camouflage patterns) * Citadel Base Ceramite White (whitewash, winter camouflage) Combat efficiency KV-1 Thick armour combined with 76mm gun make the KV-1 the most powerful tank in Early War and a formidable opponent for Mid-War. Despite having low speed, it takes a lot to stop it from getting to where it is going. The only real drawback of the KV-1 is the Overworked Special Rule, giving it penalties to shoot on the move. Only few Early-War and Mid-War weapons might defeat the tank's armour. KV-1s At the cost of reduced front and side armour, the improved KV-1s gained better speed, a bonus to crossing rough terrain and does not have the Overworked Special Rule, which makes it more suitable as a rapid attack vehicle. The ''Red Banner handbook allows deploying Guards Heavy Tank Regimens, which might be composed solely of KV-1s or have one company of older KV-1 tanks, which is a much better option than the Mixed Tank Battalion from Enemy at the Gates handbook. Apart from containing the HQ (the Mixed Tank Battalion lacks it), the tanks from Guards Heavy Tank Regiments have better Skill Rating (4+ instead of 5+) and are more difficult to be hit (3+ instead of 2+). Ten tanks in a standard 100 point game can cause havoc when they are used against enemy infantry or weaker tanks. KV-85 This upgunned variant of the KV tank has the same 85mm gun as T-34/85 and SU-85. While having better armour than the lighter vehicles, a full strength company of five KV-85 tanks costs 555 points in Red Bear handbook, while five T-34/85 tanks (a half-strength company) cost 395 points. SU-85 are even cheaper with 340 points for a full-strength five-tank company. The KV-85's better armour works better for defensive missions and for infantry support, though for a typical advance mission, the T-34/85 does the trick better - despite weaker armour, more tanks can be deployed and overcome the enemy. Alternatively, a mixed KV-1/KV-85 tank regiment might work well as a cheaper substitute for much heavier IS-2 tanks. KV-8 Those tanks work great as infantry support - the flamethrower is a lethal weapon against enemy infantry and unarmoured tanks, while the 45mm anti-tank gun has enough AT to deal with most of the Mid-War tanks. Despite being easy to hit and having Reluctant 5+ Motivation, its thick hide makes the KV-8 tank a formidable opponent. Image gallery SUAB09-15.jpg KV (1).JPG|From the background to the foreground: a KV-1, a KV-1s and a KV-85. KV (2).JPG KV (3).JPG SBX40-02.jpg|The currently sold KV tank company box. SUAB09-16.jpg|A KV-1s unit card. SUAB09-18.jpg|A KV-8 unit card. KV-85.JPG|KV-85 turrets converted from KV-1s turrets. SBX04.jpg|The SBX04 box front. SBX04a.jpg|The SBX04 box rear. Soviet heavy tank company late war.png|A diagram for a Soviet Heavy Tank Regiment. KV-1 tanks are also an option to be fielded. SUAB11-10.jpg|The currently used Late-War command card. Category:Soviet Category:Tanks Category:Armoured Tanks Category:Tank Teams Category:Mid-war Category:Formations Category:Under Construction Category:Support Category:Vehicles